History

LAERI was founded in 2011 by Meredith Phillips and Kyo Yamashiro, with the goal of bringing practical, rigorous, independent research to bear on the issues students, teachers, administrators, and policymakers are grappling with throughout Los Angeles. LAERI's origins can be traced to a white paper drafted by Phillips and Yamashiro in 2009, outlining a partnership between researchers and school districts modeled loosely on similar efforts in Chicago, Baltimore, New York, and other cities. Based on feedback from educators, school district leaders, researchers, and community members, LAERI has since evolved into an independent, Los Angeles-based non-profit organization working in partnership with faculty research affiliates drawn from universities across the L.A. basin and the nation. Our distinguished national research advisory board provides research guidance while our practitioner affiliates help the work stay grounded. The California Community Foundation serves as LAERI's temporary fiscal agent and the California Center for Population Research provides its secure data infrastructure.